Looking cowed and frightened, a young man, identified by his full name and sitting directly in front of the camera, is being bullied and browbeaten by an interrogator who remains out of the picture. "By what authority did you do these things?"

"Sir, they led us astray with their fatwas and offering us money."

"Do you realise that everything you did is perfidy?"

"Yes, sir."

"This Mullah Mahdi who gave you fatwas is a dog. He is scum. I'll get him within 72 hours and put him on TV, God willing."

"God willing, sir."

Ibrahim confesses to involvement in a series of attacks, and abducting and killing Iraqi policemen, national guards and others.

He says he was paid $100 (£52) per operation by his commander, or emir, who, he says, is homosexual.

I have no idea why the dude's sexuality would be relevant, but note that the television station on which these staged confessions are taking place is al-Iraqiya, a part of the Iraq Media Network (IMN) which is not merely "government-run" as the BBC reports, but was founded, and is funded, by the United States. The Beeb goes on:

The televised confessions, on a programme called "Terror in the Hands of Justice", are shown at prime time every night, and are clearly aimed at shocking the Iraqi public.

They portray the insurgents as bloodthirsty, venal, morally deviant, and religiously bankrupt.

A naked psyops campaign, then, aimed at undermining support - passive or active - for the resistance. The Beeb goes on:

Human rights advocates may not be happy about it. But such practices are deeply rooted in Iraqi culture and tradition - and a very effective propaganda tool for the authorities in their battle with the insurgents. [Emphasis added]

In the sense that such practices did persist under Saddam Hussein, the BBC is right. But a lot of other practices are "deeply rooted in Iraqi culture and tradition" in that sense: torture, mass murder, gassing, rape and much more besides. How many more Iraqi 'traditions' will the occupiers be upholding? Ethnic cleansing , perhaps? Or maybe the assassination of one's political opponents? Hey, human rights groups might not like it, but this is part of their fucking culture, alright?